When Roz Zollinger moved from South Africa to Atlanta with her family, she realized no one was really teaching reflexology or aromatherapy classes in the area. She started teaching comprehensive classes out of her Sandy Springs home for a few years.

“I was wanting to connect with people, using my hands to heal and not taking a lot of time away from my children,” she said. “I was thinking I was helping my children by being there, but I started to have too many students. The house was overwhelming.”

In 1992, Zollinger started Heal Center Atlanta in Sandy Springs. It now offers several healing services, including reflexology, aromatherapy, Reiki and acupuncture.

The center is a sanctuary for healing both physical and emotional pain, Zollinger said, and she is hoping to eventually expand the center to another location in Sandy Springs.

“We have four therapy rooms and there are eight of us on staff,” she said.

Through reflexology combined with essential oils, she helps women with infertility issues.

“It doesn’t work every time. Eighty percent of the time it works, I would say, usually within two to three months of having regular sessions weekly,” she said.

She said the treatment allows women to relax their nervous systems and balances their hormones. Three massage therapists work at the center, including Zollinger’s son Michael.

“I never thought I’d get into it. I was studying music,” he said.

But toward the end of school, he realized all the serious musicians had injuries like carpel tunnel and tendonitis. “Most of my work begins with pain issues,” Michael Zollinger said. “It progresses from there to maintaining. … Whether you’re athletic or not, you have the right to feel good. It’s relaxing, makes your body feel good and you avoid injuring yourself.”

He said he tends to be “more structured,” and focuses on clients’ posture and alignment. His clients range in age from 6 to 92, he said. Michael Zollinger and acupuncturist Sara Haase created the Wellness Collective, which gives clients a well-rounded experience.

“Sara and I are working together so clients can choose what therapy they want. It’s about working more cohesively. If I feel [clients] need acupuncture, I tell them they’d probably benefit more from it today, or visa versa,” he said. “We’re also trying to make it more accessible.”

Some areas of focus in the Collective include allergies, depression, chronic pain, digestive problems, stress, insomnia and menstrual disorders.

Each Thursday from 5 to 9 p.m., Community Care is offered, where people can try out the services in a communal atmosphere for shorter periods of time at lower costs.

“We decided to open it up to make it more accessible to people that wouldn’t want to normally try it,” he said. “The response has been great. People really like the fact they can come and try it out for an hour or a couple of hours, and it doesn’t require $70 or $80.”

During Community Care, clients can take one 30-minute session of a treatment for $30 or they can take two 30-minute sessions for $50.

Aside from the center’s regular sessions, clients can take teaching courses like the aromatherapy certification and the reflexology certification. Reiki practitioner Benjamin Balagur came from Argentina 10 years ago as a practicing physical trainer.

“I was always interested in energy and healing, so then I started to do Reiki. Reiki is not very known around here. Some people think it’s some kind of magic thing. It’s not,” Balagur said. “It’s a transfer of energy from God or the light to the patient. … [I] guide energy and try to put it in places where my intuition tells me it should go. It’s a healing process.”

He said he aims to make people more aware of their own bodies in a non-invasive way. And Roz Zollinger said she hopes to offer all her clients nurturing and unconditional love.

“I help with physical issues in the body, and emotion issues,” she said. “I am giving them a safe space to heal. It’s about bringing people together here.”

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